Andreas Happe: Everything
HTTP Header Security
During a recent presentation on HTTP Header Security I was asked for a “simple” flow chart with directions which headers can be used without too many problems. The result was this: What was the reasoning? Initially, basic headers that unify browser behavior are set. They control behavior that is already set when using modern browsers (e.g., Referrer-Policy) or unify non-standard behavior (e.g, X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff). The basic idea behind those headers is, that web developers need to make sure that their website works with those anyway (otherwise people using modern browsers might complain) so it makes sense to take care of those situations during development.
Book Updates and Blog Posts..
Given that I’ve spent more time in my flat (hello, COVID-19) I also spent more time looking at my book shelf.. and wasn’t too happy with it: in hindsight, some of the books I’ve read are way to pretentious and the books I remember as life-changing were mostly read on my kindle anyways. Speaking of Kindles, my first kindle (must be bought around 2008 in the United States) was stored between the books.
Running OWASP Juice Shop with Root-the-Box on Google Cloud Platform
So I am back at teaching web application security. This time I wanted to setup a CTF challenge for my students. To not reinvent the wheel, or rather, to stand on the shoulders of giants I am reusing the OWASP Juice Shop vulnerable web app in its CTF mode. Normally I would teach at a (physical) lab which would make the setup easy: all students are situated in the same physical room, I can setup the game server on my laptop and distribute virtual machines containing the vulnerable web app over the local network.
Create a new Ubuntu 20.10 Desktop without too much Ubuntiness.
After I’ve bought a new and fast 1TB SSD, it’s time to setup my aging Desktop again. Last time I went with Fedora Core, this time I will try to reduce some of the ubuntu-iness of a Ubuntu 20.10 Desktop for that. After preliminary tests Ubuntu seems to be more resource efficient than Fedora Silverblue and I should be able to remove most of Ubuntu’s problematic packages. Given that my Notebook still runs Fedora Core, I’m also keeping in touch with both the Ubuntu/Debian as well as with the Redhat/Fedora world through that.
Building a simple VPN with WireGuard with a Raspberry Pi as Server
Now that wireguard will be part of the upcoming Linux 5.6 Kernel it’s time to see how to best integrate it with my Raspberry Pi based LTE-Router/Access Point Setup. What is my scenario? Raspberry Pi 3 with a LTE hat, using a public IP address. This will be the VPN server (called edgewalker in this post) An Android Phone that should use the VPN for all communication when connected An Linux Laptop that should use the VPN only accessing network services that are exposed to the VPN Each device connected to the VPN should be able to connect to all other devices, e.
2019 redux, what to expect in 2020
2019 was a year in which I expanded my comfort zone and forced myself to face some fears. I haven’t always been victorious, there’s enough to face next year. I see progress and hope; I do not feel trapped in my situation but rather see a comfy base from which I can explore further. I shed some possessions, mostly donated them or gave them away to friends. This calms my mind tremendously.
Closing down my company
After 15 or so years I’m finally closing down my own company (it was a small one-person vehicle, in Austrian Einzelpersonenunternehmen or EPU). How so? I’ve been self-employed since I’ve started to study at university. Mostly I did software engineering for various research projects at AIT. There was a short side-project (a failed startup that I created with friends of mine), after that more web development with other friends of mine.
Adding advertisement-filtering and spotify support to a Linux-based Access Point/Router
The last weeks I’ve tried to improve upon my Raspberry Pi based LTE-Router/Access Point. Normally I would heave tons of software on it, try it out and let it simmer on. I did that this time too: the ELK-Stack (too little memory) and HomeAssistant (too little SmartHome-devices in my flat) only had a short intermezzo on this hardware. What stuck? Before that a small note: originally I was using a IKEA USB charger; its spec should be sufficient but I kept getting “Undervoltage detected” error messages in dmesg/syslog.
FH-Lecture: Secure Operating Systems (SecOps)
Nach dem guten Feedback meiner Studenten auf meine Web Application Security Vorlesung lies ich mich überreden, im Wintersemester 2019 einen Teil einer weiteren Vorlesung zu halten: SecOps — Secure Operating Systems, also quasi Security Themen für Administratoren. Mein Part umschloss Linux, Virtualisierung und (sehr kurz) Mobile Systeme. Mein BrainDump dieser Vorlesung kann hier bezogen werden. Es ist noch in einem frühen Stadium, aber ich hoffe es kann schon weiteren Personen helfen bzw.
Einführung in die Web-Security
Diese Unterlagen entstanden zeitgleich während einer von mir gehaltenen Vorlesung an dem Technikum/FH Wien. Nach dem positiven Feedback der Stundenten wurden die Unterlagen überarbeitet und ich hoffe, dass sie auch von anderen Personen genutzt werden können. Inhalt Der Inhalt orientiert sich grob an den OWASP Top 10: Allgemeine Sicherheitsgrundlagen Was sind Web-Applikationen? Authentication und Authorization-Fehler Serverseite Injection-Angriffe (inkl. SQLi, SSTI, XEE, Type-Juggling, etc.) Clientseitige Angriffe (inkl. XSS, CSRF, Clickjacking, etc.